The Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to pay a $612 million fine in the United States and Britain over its role in the manipulation of global interest rates. RBS becomes the third bank to pay fines in the Libor scandal, which saw major companies take part in fixing the benchmark for rates on trillions of dollars in transactions across the globe. The rigging of Libor meant millions of borrowers paid the wrong amount on their loans. Announcing the settlement, RBS chief executive Stephen Hester apologized to the public.

Stephen Hester: “I am disgusted by this and hugely disappointed at the wrongdoing of 20 people in this institution. It’s no excuse that it was also across the industry. It is unacceptable. There’s no place in our industry for it. And worse than that, in many respects, the culture of selfishness, of self-serving, of which this is an extreme and unrepresentative example but is an example, taints our whole industry.”